Cumulative connectedness

ABSTRACT

Embodiments of the invention are directed to systems, methods and computer program products for determining the connectedness from a first individual to a second individual on a social network. In some embodiments, a method includes: (a) receiving information associated with the social network, (b) determining a direct connection between the first individual and the second individual, (c) determining one or more indirect connections between a first individual and a second individual, and (d) determining the connectedness based at least partially on: the direct connection, and/or the number of indirect connections between the first individual and the second individual, and/or the type of each indirect connection, and/or a qualitative value of each indirect connection. Embodiments of the invention allow a user of a system to determine the strength (or quality/closeness) of a connection between two individuals on a social network.

BACKGROUND

A first individual on a social network may be directly or indirectlyconnected to a second individual. The probability that two directlyconnected individuals know each other (or are well acquainted with eachother) may be ambiguous. This is because although the two individualsare directly connected to each other, the direct connection may haveresulted from a single meeting between the two individuals, and the twoindividuals may have not interacted with each other since that meeting.The probability that two indirectly connected individuals know eachother (or are well acquainted with each other) may also be ambiguous forthe simple reason that the two individuals are not directly connected toeach other. Therefore, there is a need for a system to solve theseambiguities and determine the quality or strength, both on aquantitative and qualitative basis, of a connection between any twoindividuals on a social network.

BRIEF SUMMARY

Embodiments of the invention are directed to systems, methods andcomputer program products for determining the connectedness from a/firstindividual to a second individual on a social network. In someembodiments, a method includes: (a) receiving information associatedwith the social network, (b) determining a direct connection between thefirst individual and the second individual, (c) determining one or moreindirect connections between a first individual and a second individual,and (d) determining the connectedness based at least partially on: thedirect connection, and/or the number of indirect connections between thefirst individual and the second individual, and/or the type of eachindirect connection, and/or the qualitative value of each indirectconnection. In some embodiments, a connection is a path between thefirst individual and the second individual, and the path includes one ormore intermediate individuals. The qualitative value of an indirectconnection is based on qualitative information pulled from a socialnetwork. This qualitative information includes information that isexchanged between the individuals and/or information that is notexchanged between the individuals. In some embodiments, qualitativevalues may even be generated for direct connections between individuals.Embodiments of the invention allow a user of a system to determine thestrength (or quality/closeness) of a connection between two individualson a social network.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Having thus described embodiments of the invention in general terms,reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings, where:

FIG. 1 is a flowchart illustrating a general process flow fordetermining the connectedness from a first individual to a secondindividual on a social network, in accordance with embodiments of thepresent invention;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating technical components of a systemfor determining the connectedness from a first individual to a secondindividual on a social network, in accordance with embodiments of thepresent invention;

FIGS. 3-4 are illustrations of a graphical user interface initiated by asystem for determining the connectedness from a first individual to asecond individual on a social network, in accordance with embodiments ofthe present invention; and

FIGS. 5-6 are illustrations of a graphical user interface initiated by asystem for determining a list of individuals connected to auser-selected individual on a social network (or a plurality of socialnetworks), where the connectedness value from the user-selectedindividual to a determined individual is less than or equal to auser-inputted connectedness value, in accordance with embodiments of thepresent invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

Embodiments of the present invention now may be described more fullyhereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which some,but not all, embodiments of the invention are shown. Indeed, theinvention may be embodied in many different forms and should not beconstrued as limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, theseembodiments are provided so that this disclosure may satisfy applicablelegal requirements. Like numbers refer to like elements throughout.

Embodiments of the invention are directed to systems, methods andcomputer program products for determining the connectedness from a firstindividual to a second individual on a social network. As used herein, asocial network is a social structure comprising nodes (i.e.,individuals, entities, bots, etc.), that are connected to each other.The connection may be formed as a result of some interdependency betweenthe individuals, such as friendship, a family relationship, a businessconnection, or some other shared interest, etc. In some embodiments, inorder for a first individual to “connect” to a second individual on asocial network, a first individual may send an invitation to the secondindividual, and the second individual would have to subsequently acceptthe invitation to establish the connection on the social network.

An apparatus may generate the “connectedness” in order to determine thestrength or closeness of a connection between a first individual and asecond individual on a social network. In some embodiments, theconnectedness may be generated in numerical or graphical form. As usedherein, connectedness may also be referred to as “cumulativeconnectedness,” or “cumulative connectedness weight,” or “CCW.” In someembodiments, a method of the invention includes: (a) receivinginformation associated with the social network, (b) determining a directconnection between the first individual and the second individual, (c)determining one or more indirect connections between a first individualand a second individual, and (d) determining the connectedness based atleast partially on: the direct connection, and/or the number of indirectconnections between the first individual and the second individual,and/or the type of each indirect connection. Embodiments of theinvention allow a user of a system to determine the strength (orquality/closeness) of a connection between two individuals on a socialnetwork. In some embodiments, the term “connectedness” as used hereingenerally refers to quantitative connectedness, i.e., connectednesscalculated based on quantitative factors (e.g., the number of indirectconnections between the first individual and the second individual,and/or the type of each indirect connection).

In some embodiments, the qualitative value of an indirect connection isan additional factor that is used to determine the connectedness valueof an indirect connection. This qualitative value is based onqualitative information associated with the first individual and thesecond individual gleaned (or received/pulled) from one or more socialnetworks or from other public information. In embodiments where thequalitative value of an indirect connection is used as an additionalparameter in determining the connectedness value of an indirectconnection, the connectedness may be referred to as qualitativeconnectedness. In some embodiments, only the qualitative value of anindirect connection may be used to determine the connectednessassociated with either a direct connection or indirect connection. Insuch embodiments, the qualitative connectedness becomes pure qualitativeconnectedness.

In a commercial or financial context (or other security, forensic, orinvestigative contexts), the connectedness value (qualitative orquantitative connectedness) may be related to risk. For example, a highconnectedness value for an indirect connection between two individualswith no obviously evident relationship might indicate an opportunity orintent to defraud a financial entity via collusion. Identifying suchconnections between two individuals could alert a commercial orfinancial entity to scrutinize carefully any financial dealings betweenthose two individuals, thus reducing potential losses. As anotherinstance, a financial entity may be able to exploit a high connectednessvalue for an indirect connection between two individuals to increaseentity revenues via affinity marketing by encouraging (rewarding)referrals, or as an entry path to a desirable targeted market segment.

Referring now to FIG. 1, a general process flow 100 is provided fordetermining the connectedness from a first individual to a secondindividual on a social network, in accordance with embodiments of thepresent invention. In some embodiments, the process flow 100 isperformed by an apparatus (e.g., management system 330 or user interfacesystem 340 illustrated in FIG. 2, etc.) having hardware and/or softwareconfigured to perform one or more portions of the process flow 100. Insuch embodiments, as represented at block 110, the apparatus isconfigured to receive information associated with the social network. Insome embodiments, the apparatus is also configured to receive, via userinput, the name of the first individual on the social network and thename of the second individual on the social network. As represented atblock 120, the apparatus is configured to determine whether there is adirect connection between the first individual and the secondindividual. As represented at block 130, the apparatus is configured to,in response to determining no direct connection between the firstindividual and the second individual, determine one or more indirectconnections between a first individual and a second individual. Asrepresented at block 140, the apparatus is configured to determine theconnectedness between the first individual and the second individualbased at least partially on: the number of indirect connections betweenthe first individual and the second individual, and the type of eachindirect connection.

At block 110, in some embodiments, the apparatus prompts a user of theapparatus to input, on a user interface, a name of a social network, aname of a first individual on the social network, and a name of a secondindividual on the social network. In some embodiments, the apparatusreceives the name of the social network and the name of the firstindividual, and subsequently receives (or pulls) social networkinformation associated with the first individual's account on the socialnetwork. The received information includes a first list of individualsdirectly connected to the first individual. As a further instance, theapparatus may also receive a second list of individuals, where theindividuals in the second list are directly connected to the individualsin the first list of individuals. As a further instance, the apparatusmay also receive a third list of individuals, where the individuals inthe third list are directly connected to the individuals in the secondlist of individuals, and so on.

Thereafter, at block 120, in some embodiments, the apparatus maydetermine whether the second individual is present on the first list ofindividuals directly connected to the first individual. In someembodiments, as represented in FIG. 1, if the apparatus determines atblock 120 that there is a direct connection between the first individualand the second individual (i.e., if the second individual is present onthe first list of individuals directly connected to the firstindividual), the apparatus may skip block 130 and proceed directly toblock 140. In some embodiments, the apparatus may assign the maximumvalue for the connectedness (e.g., ‘10’) if the apparatus determines adirect connection between the first individual and the secondindividual.

In other embodiments, the direct connection between the first individualand the second individual may merely be a factor in determining theconnectedness between the first individual and the second individual.Therefore, in such embodiments, regardless of whether there is a directconnection between the first individual and the second individual, theprocess flow proceeds from block 120 to block 130.

Thereafter, at block 130, the apparatus determines one or more indirectconnections between the first individual and the second individual. Asused herein, an “indirect connection” is a path between the firstindividual and the second individual, where the path includes one ormore intermediate individuals. In some embodiments, the apparatus maydetermine all indirect connections between the first individual and thesecond individual, regardless of the number of intermediate individualsassociated with each of the indirect connections. In some embodiments,the apparatus ignores indirect connections that have more than aparticular number of intermediate individuals. In some embodiments, theapparatus prompts a user to input this “particular” number on a userinterface (e.g., see FIG. 4) along with other user input related to thename of the social network and the names of the first and secondindividuals. As used herein, a first individual may be a particularnumber of degrees away from a second individual if the indirectconnection between the first individual and the second individualincludes ‘particular number minus one’ intermediate individuals.

Thereafter, at block 140, the apparatus determines the connectednessfrom a first individual to a second individual. In some embodiments, theapparatus may determine the connectedness using a computer-implementedmathematical function that takes into account, among other factors, thenumber of connections (direct and/or indirect) between the firstindividual and the second individual, and the type of each connection.The various factors that may be taken into account in generating theconnectedness are described below with respect to image 410 in FIG. 4.

In some embodiments, the apparatus may determine the connectedness fromthe first individual to the second individual based on the number ofconnections (may include direct and/or indirect connections) between thefirst individual and the second individual. For instance, in the image410 of FIG. 4, there are eight connections between Name1 (firstindividual) and Name2 (second individual). The eight connections are: 1)Name3-Name5-Name11, 2) Name3-Name5-Name6-Name17, 3) Name3-Name5-Name6,4) Name3-Name15-Name16, 5) Name3-Name7, 6) Name4 7)Name4-Name8-Name9-Name10, and 8) Name4-Name8-Name12-Name13-Name14. Eachof the eight connections contributes to the connectedness determined bythe apparatus. However, as explained below, some of the eightconnections may have a bigger contribution to the connectedness whencompared to some of the other connections.

In some embodiments, the apparatus may determine the connectedness fromthe first individual to the second individual based on the type of eachconnection between the first individual and the second individual. Asused herein, a “type” associated with each connection may refer to thenumber of intermediate individuals situated on the connection. Forinstance, if there is a direct connection (no intermediate individuals)between Name1 and Name2, that direct connection would have the biggestcontribution to the connectedness when compared to any of the otherindirect connections. As a further instance, the indirect connection no.6 (Name4) may have a bigger contribution to the connectedness whencompared to indirect connection no. 5 (Name3-Name7). As a furtherinstance, the indirect connection no. 5 (Name3-Name7) may have a biggercontribution to the connectedness when compared to the indirectconnection no. 4 (Name3-Name15-Name16).

In some embodiments, the number of intermediate individuals situated ona connection may not be linearly proportional to the contribution of theconnection to the connectedness. For instance, a direct connectionbetween Name1 and Name2 may contribute 5 points to a possible maximum of10 points that the connectedness can take. As a further instance, theindirect connection no. 6 (Name4) may contribute 0.2 points to theconnectedness. As an even further instance, the indirect connection no.4 (Name3-Name15-Name16) may contribute 0.08 points to the connectedness.In some embodiments, the points associated with each connection areinput to a computer-implemented mathematical function that generates theconnectedness.

In some embodiments, the computer-implemented mathematical function isdynamically generated based at least partially on one or more elementsof the received social network information associated with the firstindividual. For instance, if there are more than a predetermined number(e.g., 20) of second degree (i.e., one intermediate individual situatedon the indirect connection) indirect connections, the mathematicalfunction may be dynamically generated so that each indirect connectioncontributes 0.3 points to the connectedness (rather than 0.2 points asdescribed in the above embodiments). Alternatively, if there are morethan a predetermined number (e.g., 20) of second degree indirectconnections, the mathematical function may be dynamically generated sothat the 20 second degree indirect connections contribute a total of 2.5points to the connectedness.

In some embodiments, the apparatus may determine the contribution ofeach indirect connection to the connectedness based at least partiallyon the number of branch connections that emerge from an indirectconnection. For instance, the indirect connection no. 4 may have asmaller contribution to the connectedness when compared to the indirectconnection no. 3 even though both indirect connections no. 4 and no. 3have three intermediate individuals. This is because indirect connectionno. 3 has two branch connections (indirection connection nos. 1 and 2)that emerge out of indirect connection no. 3, while indirect connectionno. 4 does not have any branch connections that emerge out of indirectconnection no. 4. Therefore, not only do indirect connection nos. 1 and2 contribute to the connectedness on their own, but they also contributeto the connectedness as branch connections that emerge from indirectconnection no. 3.

In some embodiments, the apparatus may determine the contribution ofeach indirect connection to the connectedness based at least partiallyon the type of branch connections that emerge from an indirectconnection. For instance, there are two branch connections (first branchconnection is indirect connection no. 1 and second branch connection isindirect connection no. 2) that emerge out of indirect connection no. 3.For this instance, the first branch connection may have a greater impact(when compared to the second branch connection) on the contribution ofindirect connection no. 3 to the connectedness. This is because thefirst branch connection emerges out of indirect connection no. 3 at apoint closer to the first individual (Name1) when compared to the secondbranch connection. For instance, if indirect connection no. 3contributes 0.08 points to the connectedness, the first branchconnection may contribute 0.02 points of the 0.08 points while thesecond branch may contribute 0.01 points of the 0.08 points.

In some embodiments, a branch connection may have a smaller impact onthe contribution of an indirect connection (i.e., the trunk connection)to the connectedness if the branch connection returns to the trunkconnection. For instance, assume indirect connection no. 7 contributes0.05 points to the connectedness. In such an instance, assume branchconnection (i.e., indirect connection no. 8) contributes 0.02 points ofthe 0.05 points that the indirect connection no. 7 contributes to theconnectedness. If Name14 on indirect connection no. 8 was connected toName10 rather than directly to Name2, then the branch connection (i.e.,indirect connection no. 8) may contribute only 0.01 points of the 0.05points that the indirect connection no. 7 contributes to theconnectedness.

In reverse embodiments, a user may input Name2 as the first individualand Name1 as the second individual. The apparatus may determine adifferent connectedness if Name2 is input as the first individual andName1 is input as the second individual. This is because although 1)there are eight connections from Name2 (first individual) to Name1(second individual), and 2) and the type of each connection is the sameas the original embodiments where Name1 is the first individual and‘Name2’ is the second individual, the tree network between Name2 andName1 is asymmetrical about a vertical axis between Name1 and Name2, andthe branching of each indirect connection in the reverse embodiments isdifferent from the branching of each indirect connection in the originalembodiments. For instance, in the reverse embodiments, the apparatusinitially determines eight different connection segments from Name2,namely, connection segments via Name11, Name17, Name6, Name16, Name7,Name4, Name10, and Name14. In the original embodiments, the apparatusinitially determines only two potential connection segments from Name1,namely, connection segments via Name3 and Name4. Therefore, for thisreason, the determined connectedness associated with the reverseembodiments may be greater than the determined connectedness associatedwith the original embodiments.

Therefore, at times, the apparatus may be configured to determine thatthe number of initial connection segments (reverse embodiments: 8segments, original embodiments: 2 segments) has a greater contributionto the connectedness than the number of final connection segments(reverse embodiments: 2 segments, original embodiments: 8 segments). Asused herein, an initial connection segment is a connection segment fromthe first individual (also known as origin individual) to the firstintermediate individual on an indirect connection. As used herein, afinal connection segment is a connection segment from the finalintermediate individual on the indirect connection to the secondindividual (also known as destination individual).

However, at other times, the apparatus may be configured to determinethat the number of initial connection segments (reverse embodiments: 8segments, original embodiments: 2 segments) has a smaller contributionto the connectedness when compared to the number of final connectionsegments (reverse embodiments: 2 segments, original embodiments: 8segments). When the apparatus is configured in such a manner, thedetermined connectedness associated with the reverse embodiments may besmaller than the determined connectedness associated with the originalembodiments.

In embodiments where the apparatus determines the connectedness based ononly the number of indirect connections between two individuals and thetype of each indirect connection, the apparatus may determine the sameconnectedness, regardless of whether Name1 or Name2 is input as thefirst individual and the remaining individual is input as the secondindividual. In such embodiments, in determining the connectedness, theapparatus may not consider the branching of each indirect connection andmay give equal weightage to the contribution of a connection segment onthe determined connectedness, regardless of whether the connectionsegment is closer to the first individual or closer to the secondindividual. For example, the apparatus may be configured to determinethat the number of initial connection segments (8 segments) in thereverse embodiments (where Name2 is the first individual and Name1 isthe second individual) has a contribution to the connectedness that isequal to the contribution to the connectedness of the number of finalconnection segments (8 segments) in the original embodiments (whereName2 is the first individual and Name1 is the second individual).

In some embodiments, if the user inputs the number ‘4’ in text field 448of FIG. 4, the apparatus ignores indirect connection no. 8 whendetermining the connectedness. This is because indirect connection no. 8has five intermediate individuals, while the user instructed the CCWapplication to ignore connections that have more than four intermediateindividuals.

In some embodiments, the qualitative value of an indirect connection isan additional factor that is used to determine the connectedness valueof an indirect connection at block 140 of FIG. 1. This qualitative valueis based on qualitative information associated with the first individualand the second individual gleaned (or received/pulled) from one or moresocial networks or from other public information. For example, thequalitative value is based at least partially on the first individual'sactivity on one or more social networks, the second individual'sactivity on one or more social networks, and the first individual'scommunication (e.g., via social network exchangeables) with the secondindividual on one or more social networks. In some embodiments, only thequalitative value of an indirect connection may be used to determine theconnectedness associated with either a direct connection or an indirectconnection. In such embodiments, the qualitative connectedness becomespure qualitative connectedness. As explained in further detail below,the qualitative value of an indirect connection may be computed to beeither a positive value, a negative value, or a neutral value.

An individual's activity on a social network may include one or moreelements of information associated with the individual's social networkaccount. For example, the elements of information may include membershipin groups, interests listed on the individual's account, links toarticles (e.g., news articles) or multimedia posted on the individual'saccount, applications used by the individual's account,photographs/video in which the individual appears and/or shares withothers on the social network, messages sent to and received from asecond individual via the social network, etc. The list of informationelements that can be gleaned from an individual's social network accountis not limited to those discussed here.

Therefore, in order to determine the qualitative value associated withan indirect connection between a first individual and a secondindividual, an apparatus pulls the first individual's activity on asocial network (see above elements of information). In some embodiments,the apparatus pulls the first individual's activity that occurred withina pre-determined period of time (e.g., previous one year). This may bebecause activity that occurred more than one year ago may be lessimportant in assessing the quality of a connection. Additionally, bysetting a predetermined period, a server that pulls information can doso efficiently without over-consuming computing resources and time.Next, the apparatus pulls the second individual's activity that occurredwithin the same pre-determined period of time. Next, the apparatus looksfor exchangeables exchanged between the first individual and the secondindividual within the same pre-determined period of time.

If the apparatus determines a frequent (greater than a thresholdfrequency) exchange of social network exchangeables (e.g., links,multimedia, photos, applications, etc.) between the first individual andthe second individual, the apparatus may assign a positive value to theconnection between the first individual and the second individual. Ifthe apparatus determines normal exchangeable flow (at or near thresholdfrequency) between the first individual and the second individual, theapparatus may assign a neutral value to the connection between the firstindividual and the second individual. If the apparatus determines lessthan normal (less than a threshold frequency) exchangeable flow betweenthe first individual and the second individual, the apparatus may assigna negative value to the connection between the first individual and thesecond individual. Therefore, the qualitative value is based onexchangeable social network information between the first individual andthe second individual. Each type of exchanged information is associatedwith a distinct value (positive, or negative, or neutral) thatcontributes to the overall qualitative value of the connection. As usedherein, the threshold frequency may be predetermined by the user ordynamically determined by the apparatus.

In some embodiments, the qualitative value of the indirect connectionbetween the first individual and the second individual may also be basedon social network information that the two individuals commonly share.This type of information may also be referred as unexchangedinformation. For example, both individuals may be part of the samegroups (or both attended the same school), or list the same interests(e.g., fans of the same team), or use the same applications; however,the individuals have never exchanged this information and are unaware ofthe commonality of information between them. As another instance, ifboth individuals are tagged in the same picture, this information mayalso comprise unexchanged information if the picture is not exchangedbetween the two individuals. Each type of unexchanged information isassociated with a distinct value (positive, or negative, or neutral)that contributes to the overall qualitative value of the connection.

If the apparatus determines an amount of commonly shared informationthat is greater than a threshold value (where the threshold value ispredetermined by the user or dynamically determined by the apparatus),the apparatus may assign a positive value to the connection between thefirst individual and the second individual. If the apparatus determinesa normal amount (e.g., at or near the threshold value) of commonlyshared information, the apparatus may assign a neutral value to theconnection between the first individual and the second individual. Ifthe apparatus determines an amount of commonly shared information thatis less than a threshold value, the apparatus may assign a negativevalue to the connection.

In some embodiments, the qualitative value of a connection may also begenerated for direct connections between individuals. Therefore, theabove steps of assessing the quality of a connection for an indirectconnection may also apply to direct connections between two individuals.

Referring now to FIG. 2, a system 300 is presented for determining theconnectedness from a first individual to a second individual, inaccordance with embodiments of the present invention. As illustrated,the system 300 includes a network 310, a management system 330, and auser interface system 340. FIG. 2 also illustrates a social networkaccount 331, which is operatively connected (e.g., linked) to themanagement system 330.

As shown in FIG. 2, the management system 330, and the user interfacesystem 340 are each operatively and selectively connected to the network310, which may include one or more separate networks. In addition, thenetwork 310 may include a local area network (LAN), a wide area network(WAN), and/or a global area network (GAN), such as the Internet. It willalso be understood that the network 310 may be secure and/or unsecureand may also include wireless and/or wireline and/or opticalinterconnection technology.

The user interface system 340 may include any computerized apparatusthat can be configured to perform any one or more of the functions ofthe user interface system 340 described and/or contemplated herein. Insome embodiments, for example, the user interface system 340 may includea personal computer system, a mobile computing device, a personaldigital assistant, a public kiosk, a network device, and/or the like. Asillustrated in FIG. 2, in accordance with some embodiments of thepresent invention, the user interface system 340 includes acommunication interface 342, a processor 344, a memory 346 having a CCWapplication 347 stored therein, and a user interface 349. In suchembodiments, the communication interface 342 is operatively andselectively connected to the processor 344, which is operatively andselectively connected to the user interface 349 and the memory 346.

Each communication interface described herein, including thecommunication interface 342, generally includes hardware, and, in someinstances, software, that enables a portion of the system 300, such asthe user interface system 340, to transport, send, receive, and/orotherwise communicate information to and/or from the communicationinterface of one or more other portions of the system 300. For example,the communication interface 342 of the user interface system 340 mayinclude a modem, server, electrical connection, and/or other electronicdevice that operatively connects the user interface system 340 toanother electronic device, such as the electronic devices that make upthe management system 330.

Each processor described herein, including the processor 344, generallyincludes circuitry for implementing the audio, visual, and/or logicfunctions of that portion of the system 300. For example, the processormay include a digital signal processor device, a microprocessor device,and various analog-to-digital converters, digital-to-analog converters,and other support circuits. Control and signal processing functions ofthe system in which the processor resides may be allocated between thesedevices according to their respective capabilities. The processor mayalso include functionality to operate one or more software programsbased at least partially on computer-executable program code portionsthereof, which may be stored, for example, in a memory device, such asin the CCW application 347 of the memory 346 of the user interfacesystem 340.

Each memory device described herein, including the memory 346 forstoring the CCW application 347 and other data, may include anycomputer-readable medium. For example, memory may include volatilememory, such as volatile random access memory (RAM) having a cache areafor the temporary storage of data. Memory may also include non-volatilememory, which may be embedded and/or may be removable. The non-volatilememory may additionally or alternatively include an EEPROM, flashmemory, and/or the like. The memory may store any one or more of piecesof information and data used by the system in which it resides toimplement the functions of that system.

As shown in FIG. 2, the memory 346 includes the CCW application 347. Insome embodiments, the CCW application 347 includes an interface forcommunicating with, navigating, controlling, configuring, and/or usingthe management system 330 and/or other portions of the system 300. Forinstance, the CCW application allows a user to input or search for thenames of a social network, a first individual, and a second individual(see example user interface in FIG. 4). In some embodiments, the CCWapplication 347 includes computer-executable program code portions forinstructing the processor 344 to perform one or more of the functions ofthe CCW application 347 described and/or contemplated herein. In someembodiments, the CCW application 347 may include and/or use one or morenetwork and/or system communication protocols.

Also shown in FIG. 2 is the user interface 349. In some embodiments, theuser interface 349 includes one or more user output devices, such as adisplay and/or speaker, for presenting information to the user 345and/or some other user. In some embodiments, the user interface 349includes one or more user input devices, such as one or more buttons,keys, dials, levers, directional pads, joysticks, accelerometers,controllers, microphones, touchpads, touchscreens, haptic interfaces,microphones, scanners, motion detectors, cameras, and/or the like forreceiving information from the user 345 and/or some other user. In someembodiments, the user interface 349 includes the input and displaydevices of a personal computer, such as a keyboard and monitor, that areoperable to receive and display information associated with the account.

FIG. 2 also illustrates a management system 330, in accordance with anembodiment of the present invention. The management system 330 mayinclude any computerized apparatus that can be configured to perform anyone or more of the functions of the management system 330 describedand/or contemplated herein. In accordance with some embodiments, forexample, the management system 330 may include a computer network, anengine, a platform, a server, a database system, a front end system, aback end system, a personal computer system, and/or the like. In someembodiments, such as the one illustrated in FIG. 2, the managementsystem 330 includes a communication interface 332, a processor 334, anda memory 336, which includes a CCW application 337 and a datastore 338stored therein. As shown, the communication interface 332 is operativelyand selectively connected to the processor 334, which is operatively andselectively connected to the memory 336.

It will be understood that the CCW application 337 may be configured toimplement any one or more portions of any one or more of the processflow 100 described and/or contemplated herein. It will also beunderstood that, in some embodiments, the CCW application 337 isconfigured to communicate with the datastore 338, and/or any one or moreother portions of the system 300. As an example, in some embodiments,the CCW application 337 is configured to receive information associatedwith the social network, determine a direct connection between the firstindividual and the second individual, and in response to determining nodirect connection: 1) determine one or more indirect connections betweena first individual and a second individual, and 2) determine theconnectedness based at least partially on: the number of indirectconnections between the first individual and the second individual,and/or the type of each indirect connection, and/or the qualitativevalue of each indirect connection. In some embodiments, the CCWapplication is further configured to recognize an indirect connection asa path between the first individual and the second individual, where thepath includes one or more intermediate individuals. In some embodiments,the CCW application is further configured to identify the type of anindirect connection based at least partially on the number ofintermediate individuals associated with (or situated on) the indirectconnection. In some embodiments, the CCW application is furtherconfigured to compute the contribution of an indirect connection to theconnectedness based at least partially on the number of branchconnections associated with the indirect connection and the type of eachbranch connection, where the type of each branch connection is based atleast partially on a distance of the branch connection to the firstindividual. In some embodiments, the CCW application is furtherconfigured to compute the qualitative value of each indirect connectionbased on information gleaned (or received/pulled) from one or moresocial networks.

In some embodiments, the CCW application is further configured to inresponse to determining a direct connection: 1) determine one or moreindirect connections between a first individual and a second individual,and 2) determine the connectedness based at least partially on: thedirect connection, the number of indirect connections between the firstindividual and the second individual, and/or the type of each indirectconnection, and/or the qualitative value of each indirect connection.

In some embodiments, the CCW application is further configured to prompta user to input, on a user interface, a name of the social network, aname of the first individual, and a name of the second individual. Insome embodiments, the CCW application is further configured to prompt auser to input, on a user interface, a numeric value for a maximum numberof intermediate individuals, where, in determining the connectedness,the application ignores an indirect connection that includes more thanthe maximum number of intermediate individuals. In other embodiments,the CCW application sets a predetermined ‘maximum number of intermediateindividuals’ value. The CCW application may prompt the user to eithermodify this value or use this value unchanged.

It will be further understood that, in some embodiments, the CCWapplication 337 includes computer-executable program code portions forinstructing the processor 334 to perform any one or more of thefunctions of the CCW application 337 described and/or contemplatedherein. In some embodiments, the CCW application 337 may include and/oruse one or more network and/or system communication protocols. It willalso be understood that, in some embodiments, the memory includes otherapplications.

In addition to the CCW application 337, the memory 336 also includes thedatastore 338. As used herein, the datastore 338 may be one or moredistinct and/or remote datastores. In some embodiments, the datastore338 is not located within the management system and is instead locatedremotely from the management system. In some embodiments, the datastore338 stores information regarding various social networks and varioussocial network accounts (e.g., account information associated with thefirst and second individuals).

It will be understood that the datastore 338 may include any one or morestorage devices, including, but not limited to, datastores, databases,and/or any of the other storage devices typically associated with acomputer system. It will also be understood that the datastore 338 maystore information in any known way, such as, for example, by using oneor more computer codes and/or languages, alphanumeric character strings,data sets, figures, tables, charts, links, documents, and/or the like.Further, in some embodiments, the datastore 338 may include informationassociated with one or more applications, such as, for example, the CCWapplication 337. It will also be understood that, in some embodiments,the datastore 338 provides a substantially real-time representation ofthe information stored therein, so that, for example, when the processor334 accesses the datastore 338, the information stored therein iscurrent or substantially current.

It will be understood that the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 2 isexemplary and that other embodiments may vary. As another example, insome embodiments, the management system 330 includes more, less, ordifferent components, such as, for example, an account manager userinterface. As another example, in some embodiments, some or all of theportions of the system 300 may be combined into a single portion.Specifically, in some embodiments, the user interface system 340 and themanagement system 330 are combined into a single user interface andmanagement system configured to perform all of the same functions ofthose separate portions as described and/or contemplated herein.Likewise, in some embodiments, some or all of the portions of the system300 may be separated into two or more distinct portions.

In addition, the various portions of the system 300 may be maintainedfor by the same or separate parties. For example, as previouslymentioned, a single entity may maintain the account 331 and themanagement system 330. However, in other embodiments, the account 331and the management system 330 may each be maintained by separateentities.

It will also be understood that the system 300 may include and/orimplement any embodiment of the present invention described and/orcontemplated herein. For example, in some embodiments, the system 300 isconfigured to implement any one or more of the embodiments of theprocess flow 100 described and/or contemplated herein in connection withFIG. 1.

FIGS. 3-6 illustrate example screenshots of a CCW application userinterface. The screenshots discussed below with respect to variousprocess blocks are mere examples of screenshots in some embodiments ofthe invention. In other embodiments of the invention, the screenshotsmay include additional features not described herein, or may not includeeach and every feature described herein. As used with respect to thevarious screenshots of FIGS. 3-6, an “apparatus” may be the managementsystem 330 or the user interface system 340 depicted in FIG. 2. Theapparatus may generate, or initiate generation of, the screenshotspresented in FIGS. 3-6 and may cause the presentation of one or moreelements in each screenshot presented in FIGS. 3-6.

FIG. 3 presents an example screenshot of a page 300 that is presented toa user when the user executes an action (e.g., click or touch) thatinitiates the CCW application on the user interface. In order to viewthe page 300, the personnel may need to authenticate himself/herself tothe CCW application. In some embodiments, a user may enter a name of asocial network in the text field 442 associated with the ‘Choose SocialNetwork’ prompt. In some embodiments, the application prompts a user toselect a ‘Choose’ option 452. An “option,” as used herein, may be adigital button, icon, menu, etc. If the user selects the ‘Choose’option, the application may present in a pop-window or panel a list ofsocial networks that are associated with the CCW application.

In some embodiments, a user may enter a name of a first individual inthe text field 444 associated with the ‘Name of First Individual’prompt. In some embodiments, the application prompts a user to select a‘Search’ option 454. If the user enters a name (e.g., Name1) in the textfield, and subsequently selects the ‘Search’ option, the application maypresent in a pop-window or panel a list of individuals that haveaccounts associated with a name that matches ‘Name1’ to a predetermineddegree of confidence. The user may subsequently select a particularfirst individual from the displayed list of individuals. In someembodiments, a user may enter a name of a second individual in the textfield 446 associated with the ‘Name of Second Individual’ prompt. Insome embodiments, the application prompts a user to select a ‘Search’option 456. If the user enters a name (e.g., Name2) in the text field,and subsequently selects the ‘Search’ option, the application maypresent in a pop-window or panel a list of individuals associated with aname that matches ‘Name2’ to a predetermined degree of confidence. Theuser may subsequently select a particular second individual from thedisplayed list of individuals. In some embodiments, the application maydisplay an error message if the user selects the same individual for thefirst individual text field and the second individual text field.

In some embodiments, the application prompts a user to enter a numericvalue in text field 448 (or select a numeric value from a list ofnumeric values, where the list of numeric values is presented when theselects the ‘Choose’ option 458). This numeric value allows a user todefine the length of indirect connections that can be ignored by theapplication in computing the connectedness between the first individualand the second individual. In some embodiments, if the user does notenter a value in text field 448, the application uses a predeterminednumber (e.g., 5). The smaller the numeric value selected by the user intext field 448, the faster that the application can produce a result.Moreover, the smaller the numeric value input into the text field 448,the less computing resources the apparatus may have to use in producinga result. In some embodiments, the application prompts a user to selectan option to include the qualitative (or quality) value (based onqualitative information) of the connection in determining theconnectedness. The application also provides a digital button to executethe CCW application and determine the connectedness based on the userinput provided at 442, 444, 446, 448, and input provided regardingwhether the qualitative value of the connection should be included inthe computation of the connectedness.

FIG. 4 presents an example screenshot of a results page 400 that ispresented to a user when the user selects the option 460 in FIG. 3. FIG.4 presents the connectedness rating 406 as determined by theapplication. FIG. 4 also presents the connectedness color 404 associatedwith the connectedness rating. In some embodiments, a connectednessrating of 0 is associated with a white color graph, while aconnectedness rating of 10 is associated with a black color graph.Therefore, since the determined threat rating is 7.55, the connectednesscolor graph is a darker shade of grey rather than a lighter shade ofgrey. The application also presents to the user an option 408 to learnmore about the connectedness rating. When the user selects the option408, the application presents the image 410 to the user. The image 410presents the connections between the first individual and the secondindividual based on the user input in FIG. 3. For instance, since theuser entered ‘5’ in text field 448 of FIG. 3, the application, in image410, does not present connections that have more than five intermediateindividuals. As seen in image 410, the longest connection considered bythe application in determining the connectedness has five intermediateindividuals (connection no. 8). The significance of the variousconnections in contributing to the connectedness has been describedearlier with respect to block 140 of FIG. 1. In some embodiments, theconnectedness rating may be based on the quality of the indirectconnection as well. As explained previously, the apparatus may prompt auser to select an option to consider the qualitative informationassociated with the two individuals when executing the application tocompute the connectedness between the two individuals.

In some embodiments, the application may further present, on the userinterface, a descriptor for the determined connectedness. For instance,the application may present a descriptor of “Very Connected” if thedetermined connectedness is between 7 and 10 (where 10 is the maximumvalue that the connectedness can take). As a further instance, theapplication may present a description of “Moderately Connected” if thedetermined connectedness is between 3 and 7. As a further instance, theapplication may present a description of “Unconnected” if the determinedconnectedness is between 0 and 3 (where 0 is the minimum value that theconnectedness can take).

FIG. 5 presents an alternate embodiment of the user input page presentedin FIG. 3. In the example screenshot 500 presented in FIG. 5, theapplication prompts the user to input a name of a social network and aname of a first individual. Therefore, in some embodiments, a user mayenter a name of a social network (or a plurality of social networks) inthe text field 442 associated with the ‘Choose Social Network’ prompt.In some embodiments, the application prompts a user to select a ‘Choose’option 452. An “option,” as used herein, may be a digital button, icon,menu, etc. If the user selects the ‘Choose’ option, the application maypresent in a pop-window or panel a list of social networks that areassociated with the CCW application (i.e., a list of social networksfrom which the CCW application may pull or receive information). In someembodiments (as presented in FIG. 5), a user may choose a plurality ofsocial networks, e.g., Social Networks A, B, C, D, and E. Furthermore, auser may enter a name of a first individual in the text field 444associated with the ‘Name of First Individual’ prompt. In someembodiments, the application prompts a user to select a ‘Search’ option454. If the user inputs a name (e.g., Name1) in the text field, andsubsequently selects the ‘Search’ option, the application may search thechosen social networks (e.g., social networks A, B, C, D, and E) for anaccount with a name that matches ‘Name1’ to a predetermined degree ofconfidence. The application may present this list of individuals in apop-up window or panel. The user may subsequently select a particularfirst individual (associated with a particular social network) from thedisplayed list of individuals. Alternatively, the user may selectmultiple displayed individuals (associated with a plurality of socialnetworks) from the displayed list of individuals. For instance, aspresented in FIG. 5, the user may select Name1 (associated with SocialNetwork A), Name1 (associated with Social Network B), Name1 (associatedwith Social Network C), Name1 (associated with Social Network D), andName1 (associated with Social Network E).

Additionally, the application prompts the user to input, at text field468, a connectedness value between 1 and 10, both inclusive.Alternatively, the user may select the ‘Choose’ option 469 whichpresents to the user the range of values that the ‘Connectedness Value’may take. When the user selects an option to execute the application(e.g., digital button 470) based at least partially on the user input,the application receives social network information (informationregarding direct and indirect connections) associated with the firstindividual. Assume that the user enters a connectedness value of 6.31.In some embodiments, the application may prompt the user to enter aqualitative value for the connection (e.g., +5, −6, 0, etc.). Theapplication may present the user with the maximum and minimum valuesthat the qualitative value can take. When a user enters a qualitativevalue, the application pulls qualitative social network informationassociated with the individual/individuals as explained previously.

The application analyzes the social network information (associated withthe chosen social networks) and determines a list (or set) ofindividuals that are connected to the first individual (both direct andindirect connections), where the connectedness from the first individualto each individual on the list of individuals is less than or equal tothe user-inputted connectedness value. The application subsequentlyinitiates presentation of this list of individuals on a results page600. In some embodiments, the application orders the list in descendingorder of connectedness, from an individual associated with the highestconnectedness value to an individual associated with the lowestconnectedness value (i.e., greater than or equal to the user-inputtedconnectedness value). In some embodiments, the application may presentthe connectedness value and the social network associated with adisplayed individual. In some embodiments, the application may presentan option (482, 484, and 486) to the user, where the option allows auser to change the order in which the displayed individuals arepresented (e.g., change to ascending order of connectedness, change toordering by name of individual, change to ordering by name of socialnetwork, etc.). An example screenshot of a results page is depicted inFIG. 6.

In still other alternate embodiments, the application prompts the userto input a name of a first individual and a connectedness value, butdoes not prompt the user to enter a name of a social network. Therefore,a user may enter a name of a first individual in the text field 444associated with the ‘Name of First Individual’ prompt. In someembodiments, the application prompts a user to select a ‘Search’ option454. If the user enters a name (e.g., Name1) in the text field, andsubsequently selects the ‘Search’ option, the application scans one ormore social networks from which the application may receive or pullinformation to determine any social network accounts associated with aname that matches ‘Name1’ to a predetermined degree of confidence. Theapplication may subsequently initiate presentation of a list of accountsfrom one or more social networks, where the accounts are associated witha name that matches ‘Name1’ to a predetermined degree of confidence. Theuser may subsequently select a particular first individual from thedisplayed list of individuals. In some embodiments, the applicationallows a user to select more than one individual from the displayed listof individuals. For instance, the user may select a first individual'saccount on Social Network A, and the user may also select the same firstindividual's account on Social Network B. In other embodiments, the usermay select a first individual's account on Social Network A, and theuser may also select a different individual's account on Social NetworkB (or A). Additionally, the application prompts the user to input, attext field 468, a connectedness value between 1 and 10, both inclusive.

Assume an embodiment where the user selects a first individual's accounton Social Network A, and where the user also selects the same firstindividual's account on Social Network B. When the user selects anoption to execute the application (e.g., digital button 470) based atleast partially on the user input, the application receives socialnetwork information (information regarding direct and indirectconnections from both Social Network A and Social Network B) associatedwith the first individual. The application analyzes the social networkinformation associated with both social networks and determines a list(or set) of individuals that are connected to the first individual (bothdirect and indirect connections), where the connectedness from the firstindividual to each individual on the list of individuals is less than orequal to the user-inputted connectedness value. The applicationsubsequently initiates presentation of this list of individuals. In someembodiments, the application orders the list in descending order ofconnectedness, from an individual associated with the highestconnectedness value to an individual associated with the lowestconnectedness value (i.e., where the lowest connectedness value isgreater than or equal to the user-inputted connectedness value). In someembodiments, the application may present the connectedness valueassociated with a displayed individual. In some embodiments, theapplication may also present the name of the social network associatedwith the displayed individual (e.g., Social Network A or Social NetworkB). In some embodiments, the application may present an option (482,484, and 486) to the user, where the option allows a user to change theorder in which the displayed individuals are presented (e.g., change todescending order, change to ordering by name of individual, change toordering by name of social network, etc.).

In accordance with embodiments of the invention, the term “module” withrespect to a system may refer to a hardware component of the system, asoftware component of the system, or a component of the system thatincludes both hardware and software. As used herein, a module mayinclude one or more modules, where each module may reside in separatepieces of hardware or software.

Although many embodiments of the present invention have just beendescribed above, the present invention may be embodied in many differentforms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments setforth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided so that thisdisclosure will satisfy applicable legal requirements. Also, it will beunderstood that, where possible, any of the advantages, features,functions, devices, and/or operational aspects of any of the embodimentsof the present invention described and/or contemplated herein may beincluded in any of the other embodiments of the present inventiondescribed and/or contemplated herein, and/or vice versa. In addition,where possible, any terms expressed in the singular form herein aremeant to also include the plural form and/or vice versa, unlessexplicitly stated otherwise. Accordingly, the terms “a” and/or “an”shall mean “one or more,” even though the phrase “one or more” is alsoused herein. Like numbers refer to like elements throughout.

As will be appreciated by one of ordinary skill in the art in view ofthis disclosure, the present invention may include and/or be embodied asan apparatus (including, for example, a system, machine, device,computer program product, and/or the like), as a method (including, forexample, a business method, computer-implemented process, and/or thelike), or as any combination of the foregoing. Accordingly, embodimentsof the present invention may take the form of an entirely businessmethod embodiment, an entirely software embodiment (including firmware,resident software, micro-code, stored procedures in a database, etc.),an entirely hardware embodiment, or an embodiment combining businessmethod, software, and hardware aspects that may generally be referred toherein as a “system.” Furthermore, embodiments of the present inventionmay take the form of a computer program product that includes acomputer-readable storage medium having one or more computer-executableprogram code portions stored therein. As used herein, a processor, whichmay include one or more processors, may be “configured to” perform acertain function in a variety of ways, including, for example, by havingone or more general-purpose circuits perform the function by executingone or more computer-executable program code portions embodied in acomputer-readable medium, and/or by having one or moreapplication-specific circuits perform the function.

It will be understood that any suitable computer-readable medium may beutilized. The computer-readable medium may include, but is not limitedto, a non-transitory computer-readable medium, such as a tangibleelectronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, and/orsemiconductor system, device, and/or other apparatus. For example, insome embodiments, the non-transitory computer-readable medium includes atangible medium such as a portable computer diskette, a hard disk, arandom access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasableprogrammable read-only memory (EPROM or Flash memory), a compact discread-only memory (CD-ROM), and/or some other tangible optical and/ormagnetic storage device. In other embodiments of the present invention,however, the computer-readable medium may be transitory, such as, forexample, a propagation signal including computer-executable program codeportions embodied therein.

One or more computer-executable program code portions for carrying outoperations of the present invention may include object-oriented,scripted, and/or unscripted programming languages, such as, for example,Java, Perl, Smalltalk, C++, SAS, SQL, Python, Objective C, JavaScript,and/or the like. In some embodiments, the one or morecomputer-executable program code portions for carrying out operations ofembodiments of the present invention are written in conventionalprocedural programming languages, such as the “C” programming languagesand/or similar programming languages. The computer program code mayalternatively or additionally be written in one or more multi-paradigmprogramming languages, such as, for example, F#.

Some embodiments of the present invention are described herein withreference to flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of apparatusand/or methods. It will be understood that each block included in theflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, and/or combinations ofblocks included in the flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams,may be implemented by one or more computer-executable program codeportions. These one or more computer-executable program code portionsmay be provided to a processor of a general purpose computer, specialpurpose computer, and/or some other programmable data processingapparatus in order to produce a particular machine, such that the one ormore computer-executable program code portions, which execute via theprocessor of the computer and/or other programmable data processingapparatus, create mechanisms for implementing the steps and/or functionsrepresented by the flowchart(s) and/or block diagram block(s).

The one or more computer-executable program code portions may be storedin a transitory and/or non-transitory computer-readable medium (e.g., amemory, etc.) that can direct, instruct, and/or cause a computer and/orother programmable data processing apparatus to function in a particularmanner, such that the computer-executable program code portions storedin the computer-readable medium produce an article of manufactureincluding instruction mechanisms which implement the steps and/orfunctions specified in the flowchart(s) and/or block diagram block(s).

The one or more computer-executable program code portions may also beloaded onto a computer and/or other programmable data processingapparatus to cause a series of operational steps to be performed on thecomputer and/or other programmable apparatus. In some embodiments, thisproduces a computer-implemented process such that the one or morecomputer-executable program code portions which execute on the computerand/or other programmable apparatus provide operational steps toimplement the steps specified in the flowchart(s) and/or the functionsspecified in the block diagram block(s). Alternatively,computer-implemented steps may be combined with, and/or replaced with,operator- and/or human-implemented steps in order to carry out anembodiment of the present invention.

While certain exemplary embodiments have been described and shown in theaccompanying drawings, it is to be understood that such embodiments aremerely illustrative of and not restrictive on the broad invention, andthat this invention not be limited to the specific constructions andarrangements shown and described, since various other changes,combinations, omissions, modifications and substitutions, in addition tothose set forth in the above paragraphs, are possible. Those skilled inthe art will appreciate that various adaptations, modifications, andcombinations of the just described embodiments can be configured withoutdeparting from the scope and spirit of the invention. Therefore, it isto be understood that, within the scope of the appended claims, theinvention may be practiced other than as specifically described herein.

1. A method to determine connectedness from a first individual to asecond individual on a social network, the method comprising: receivinginformation associated with the social network; determining, based atleast partially on the received information, using a processor, a directconnection between the first individual and the second individual; andin response to determining no direct connection: determining, based atleast partially on the received information, one or more indirectconnections between the first individual and the second individual; anddetermining the connectedness based at least partially on: a number ofindirect connections between the first individual and the secondindividual, a type of each indirect connection; wherein an indirectconnection is a path from the first individual to the second individual,and wherein the indirect connection comprises one or more intermediateindividuals.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the type of the indirectconnection is based at least partially on a number of intermediateindividuals associated with the indirect connection.
 3. The method ofclaim 2, further comprising: in response to determining a directconnection: determining one or more indirect connections between thefirst individual and the second individual; and determining theconnectedness based at least partially on: the direct connection, thenumber of indirect connections between the first individual and thesecond individual, and the type of each indirect connection.
 4. Themethod of claim 1, wherein a contribution of an indirect connection tothe connectedness is based at least partially on a number of branchconnections associated with the indirect connection and a type of eachbranch connection, wherein the type of each branch connection is basedat least partially on a distance of the branch connection to the firstindividual.
 5. The method of claim 1, further comprising: prompting auser to input, on a user interface, a name of the social network, a nameof the first individual, and a name of the second individual.
 6. Themethod of claim 1, further comprising: prompting a user to input, on auser interface, a numeric value for a maximum number of intermediateindividuals, wherein, in determining the connectedness, an indirectconnection that comprises more than the maximum number of intermediateindividuals is ignored.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein the determinedconnectedness from the first individual to the second individual isdifferent from a determined connectedness from the second individual tothe first individual.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein the determinedconnectedness from the first individual to the second individual isdifferent from a determined connectedness from the second individual tothe first individual.
 9. The method of claim 1, further comprising:determining the connectedness based at least partially on a qualitativevalue associated with the indirect connection, wherein the qualitativevalue is based at least partially on the first individual's activity onthe social network, the second individual's activity on the socialnetwork, and the first individual's communication with the secondindividual on the social network.
 10. The method of claim 9, wherein thequalitative value is either a positive or a negative value.
 11. Anapparatus to determine connectedness from a first individual to a secondindividual on a social network, the apparatus comprising: a memory; aprocessor; and a module stored in the memory, executable by theprocessor, and configured to: receive information associated with thesocial network; determine, based at least partially on the receivedinformation, using a processor, a direct connection between the firstindividual and the second individual; and in response to determining nodirect connection: determine, based at least partially on the receivedinformation, one or more indirect connections between the firstindividual and the second individual; and determine the connectednessbased at least partially on: a number of indirect connections betweenthe first individual and the second individual, a type of each indirectconnection; wherein an indirect connection is a path from the firstindividual to the second individual, and wherein the indirect connectioncomprises one or more intermediate individuals.
 12. The apparatus ofclaim 11, wherein the type of the indirect connection is based at leastpartially on a number of intermediate individuals associated with theindirect connection.
 13. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the moduleis further configured to: in response to determining a directconnection: determine one or more indirect connections between the firstindividual and the second individual; and determine the connectednessbased at least partially on: the direct connection, the number ofindirect connections between the first individual and the secondindividual, and the type of each indirect connection.
 14. The apparatusof claim 11, wherein a contribution of an indirect connection to theconnectedness is based at least partially on a number of branchconnections associated with the indirect connection and a type of eachbranch connection, wherein the type of each branch connection is basedat least partially on a distance of the branch connection to the firstindividual.
 15. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the module is furtherconfigured to: prompt a user to input, on a user interface, a name ofthe social network, a name of the first individual, and a name of thesecond individual.
 16. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the module isfurther configured to: prompt a user to input, on a user interface, anumeric value for a maximum number of intermediate individuals, wherein,in determining the connectedness, the module ignores an indirectconnection that comprises more than the maximum number of intermediateindividuals.
 17. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the connectedness isdetermined based at least partially on a qualitative value associatedwith the indirect connection, wherein the qualitative value is based atleast partially on the first individual's activity on the socialnetwork, the second individual's activity on the social network, and thefirst individual's communication with the second individual on thesocial network.
 18. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the qualitativevalue is either a positive or a negative value.
 19. A computer programproduct to determine connectedness between from a first individual to asecond individual on a social network, the computer program productcomprising: a non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising a setof codes for causing a computer to: receive information associated withthe social network; determine, based at least partially on the receivedinformation, using a processor, a direct connection between the firstindividual and the second individual; and in response to determining nodirect connection: determine, based at least partially on the receivedinformation, one or more indirect connections between the firstindividual and the second individual; and determine the connectednessbased at least partially on: a number of indirect connections betweenthe first individual and the second individual, and a type of eachindirect connection, wherein an indirect connection is a path from thefirst individual to the second individual, and wherein the indirectconnection comprises one or more intermediate individuals.
 20. Thecomputer program product of claim 19, wherein the type of the indirectconnection is based at least partially on a number of intermediateindividuals associated with the indirect connection.
 21. The computerprogram product of claim 20, wherein the set of codes further causes acomputer to: in response to determining a direct connection: determineone or more indirect connections between the first individual and thesecond individual; and determine the connectedness based at leastpartially on: the direct connection, the number of indirect connectionsbetween the first individual and the second individual, and the type ofeach indirect connection.
 22. The computer program product of claim 19,wherein a contribution of an indirect connection to the connectedness isbased at least partially on a number of branch connections associatedwith the indirect connection and a type of each branch connection,wherein the type of each branch connection is based at least partiallyon a distance of the branch connection to the first individual.
 23. Thecomputer program product of claim 19, wherein the set of codes furthercauses a computer to: prompt a user to input, on a user interface, aname of the social network, a name of the first individual, and a nameof the second individual.
 24. The computer program product of claim 19,wherein the set of codes further causes a computer to: prompt a user toinput, on a user interface, a numeric value for a maximum number ofintermediate individuals, wherein, in determining the connectedness, theset of codes ignores an indirect connection that comprises more than themaximum number of intermediate individuals.
 25. The computer programproduct of claim 19, wherein the determined connectedness from the firstindividual to the second individual is different from a determinedconnectedness from the second individual to the first individual. 26.The computer program product of claim 19, wherein the connectedness isdetermined based at least partially on a qualitative value associatedwith the indirect connection, wherein the qualitative value is based atleast partially on the first individual's activity on the socialnetwork, the second individual's activity on the social network, and thefirst individual's communication with the second individual on thesocial network.
 27. The computer program product of claim 26, whereinthe qualitative value is either a positive or a negative value.
 28. Amethod to determine a list of individuals connected to a firstindividual on a social network, the method comprising: receiving aconnectedness value; receiving social network information associatedwith a first individual; determining, based at least partially on thereceived social network information, using a processor, the list ofindividuals connected to the first individual; wherein the connectednessfrom the first individual to each individual on the list of individualsis less than or equal to the received connectedness value.
 29. Themethod of claim 28, wherein the social network information is associatedwith one or more social networks.